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Martin, whose books have inspired HBO’s hugely popular Emmy-winning series Game of Thrones, said he didn’t have time to watch the show based on his own books because of writing (I know he hates us saying that but: Write like the wind, George. Write like the wind) and touring. (Dude also goes to a lot of cons.)

The author is currently hard at work on the sixth book of the series, The Winds of Winter, which we all hope will be released sometime next year. But I wouldn’t hold my breath, you guys, since it doesn’t look like Martin is in any particular rush to reach any sort of deadline, and we may be actually getting another book set in Westeros instead. Here’s what he said about writing:

“I did not start to write slower over the years. I was working on the first book for six years and four years on the second one. Fantasists who release their novels every year do not offer books of large volume. These are not 1.5k pages like mine, but, for example, 500. In addition, I have not become younger. Age does not add enthusiasm.”

George R.R. Martin has been working on The Winds of Winter for six years now — time enough for Game of Thrones to have left Martin’s books in the dust, and although fans keep asking him about his upcoming book’s release date, he didn’t have any concrete answer to offer (although there are wild conspiracy theories claiming he's already finished it) but said this instead:

“The book series and TV adaptation go their separate ways. On the screen characters are killed right and left. About twenty of them have died already, which are quite alive to me and will appear in a new book.”

Look, although I’d like to have The Winds of Winter yesterday, I’m quite happy to have the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros come to life in two different media, and with enough differences to keep me happy as a clam. How about you?